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Paullinia yoco R.E. Schult. & Killip (Sapindaceae) or 'yoco', is a liana (a woody vine) used traditionally by indigenous peoples of the upper Amazon region as a stimulating beverage, because it contains both caffeine and theobromine. However, as the wild plants become increasingly rare and hard to find because of permanent settlement within a much-reduced territory, there is growing interest among indigenous tribes to learn how to successfully cultivate it for community consumption and potentially as a cash crop. To date, there has been very little research conducted on the stimulant chemical composition of the liana and biochemical variation within- and between plants. This paper provides the results of chemical (high-performance liquid chromatography) analysis of caffeine and theobromine concentrations of multiple samples of phloem and leaf material from 18 Paullinia yoco lianas. Caffeine values ranged from 0.1% to 3.6% with a significantly higher amount in the stem phloem material than the leaf material, and there was a positive linear correlation between stem diameter and caffeine concentration (% dry weight). Although the highest theobromine level was found in leaf material (1.8%), overall there was no significant difference between phloem and leaf material, and no correlation between stem diameter and theobromine concentration. Finally, we found a significant amount of variance of both caffeine and theobromine between individual plants. These results are important, first because they shed light on the apparently conflicting previous reports on P. yoco caffeine and theobromine content; and second, they provide important clues about the phytochemical architecture of P. yoco which in turn has important implications for the design of a cultivation strategy for local indigenous communities to potentially produce a yet-to-be domesticated plant of substantial market potential.

The bacteriophage population is large, dynamic, ancient, and genetically diverse. Limited genomic information shows that phage genomes are mosaic, and the genetic architecture of phage populations remains ill-defined. To understand the population structure of phages infecting a single host strain, we isolated, sequenced, and compared 627 phages of Mycobacterium smegmatis. Their genetic diversity is considerable, and there are 28 distinct genomic types (clusters) with related nucleotide sequences. However, amino acid sequence comparisons show pervasive genomic mosaicism, and quantification of inter-cluster and intra-cluster relatedness reveals a continuum of genetic diversity, albeit with uneven representation of different phages. Furthermore, rarefaction analysis shows that the mycobacteriophage population is not closed, and there is a constant influx of genes from other sources. Phage isolation and analysis was performed by a large consortium of academic institutions, illustrating the substantial benefits of a disseminated, structured program involving large numbers of freshman undergraduates in scientific discovery.

À la limite: la vie et la carrière de Zacharie de Celers

Die Projektion Gerhard Mercators setzte Maßstäbe in der Kartographie und wurde zum weltweiten Standard, bis sie im 20. Jahrhundert in die Kritik geriet und sukzessive abgelöst wurde. Dieser Band, hervorgegangen aus einer internationalen Tagung aus Anlass des 500. Geburtstags Mercators, nimmt den Gelehrten und sein Werk im Kontext mittelalterlicher und frühneuzeitlicher Diskurse, Netzwerke und Dimensionen der Wissensproduktion in den Blick. Am Standort Duisburg war Mercator auf Informationen aus aller Welt angewiesen, die er durch ein briefliches Kommunikationsnetz und über Vermittlung durch Abraham Ortelius erhielt. Der Selbstverlag, der auf der Mitarbeit der Familie basierte, produzierte und vertrieb das umfangreiche Werk, das weit mehr als Karten und Globen umfasste. Die Rezeption des Werks, die Nutzung und Popularisierung seiner Karten und Globen werden in diesem Band ebenso beleuchtet wie die Wirkung seiner wissenschaftlichen Erkenntnisse bis in unsere Gegenwart.

In Alain Chartier: Père de l'éloquence française contributors explore the diverse literary production of this influential late-medieval writer, whose concern with personal and political ethics and renovation of poetic form inspired generations of writers, and still resonate with modern readers.

Local governments are a vital component in the national effort to promote sensible methods for community development, growth and social justice. The benefits and challenges of sustainable development have become apparent as more local governments initiate programs to address economic, environmental and social equity issues. This research investigates county and municipal government efforts toward sustainable development using survey information for local governments in the southern United States. Survey responses were analyzed to examine whether local governments “practice what they preach” in terms of actually implementing the sustainable policies proclaimed to be important to their operations. Overall, results suggest local governments do place these policies into action for environmental and social justice issues. In addition, the analysis explores the impact of population size, geographic area and form of government on sustainable development. Measuring the implementation of sustainable policies in terms of dollars, however, proves difficult because there is no consistency among municipalities with regard to reporting the amount of dollars (federal or local) spent in support of sustainability efforts.

Delivery of a quality introductory accounting course is essential for schools of business. The first step in revitalization and improvement of the course is to identify factors suggested to be empirically related to succeessful completion. Accounting major status is of particular interest. While it has long been anecdotally observed and logically expected that accounting majors would earn higher grades in introductory accounting, it is rarely addressed in empirical studies. To investigate the impact of accounting major status on performance in introductory accounting, a sample of 398 students exposed to the same professor, text, teaching and examination format over five-years was gathered. Results suggest accounting major status was in fact a significant positive predictor of grades earned in the class controlling for three additional variables (i.e., grade point average, mathematics background and previous experience in the course). These results could be used to support the creation of an honors section(s) of accounting which could include a more rigorous curriculum taught with real life cases. Previous research supported the concept of an honors program from students, faculty and potential employers. In addition, the results suggest requiring a minimum grade point average and the completion of mathematics requirement before taking introductory accounting.

The purpose of this study is to explore the commitment of local governments to environmental programs when fiscal distress is predicted. We hypothesize that commitment to environmental programs diminishes when the local government is experiencing fiscal distress. The regression model results indicate that local governments with high levels of debt were less likely to I mplement environmental programs and that a larger population and higher revenue are factors directly related to the commitment of local government to environmental programs. Communities that are more populous and less fiscally stressed are more likely to benefit from a local government that implements and sustains environmental programs. These results have implications for the stakeholders of local communities and broader implications for the global effort toward environmental protection and sustainable communities.

The reporting of non-Generally Accepted Accounting Principles Measures (non-GAAP) by U.S. publically traded companies is not new but it has recently come under increased scrutiny by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This case presents a specific example of this scrutiny in the form of Tesla, Inc.’s quarterly earnings announcements and Tesla’s subsequent correspondence with the SEC. This case requires students to answer relevant questions about GAAP vs Non GAAP reporting, generally in the form of a research memo, with references to applicable SEC regulations and guidance on the use and reporting of non-GAAP measures.

With a dynamical mass of 3 M Jup, the recently discovered giant planet AF Lep b is the lowest-mass imaged planet with a direct mass measurement. Its youth and spectral type near the L/T transition make it a promising target to study the impact of clouds and atmospheric chemistry at low surface gravities. In this work, we present JWST/NIRCam imaging of AF Lep b. Across two epochs, we detect AF Lep b in F444W (4.4 μm) with signal-to-noise ratios of 9.6 and 8.7, respectively. At the planet’s separation of 320 mas during the observations, the coronagraphic throughput is ≈7%, demonstrating that NIRCam’s excellent sensitivity persists down to small separations. The F444W photometry of AF Lep b affirms the presence of disequilibrium carbon chemistry and enhanced atmospheric metallicity. These observations also place deep limits on wider-separation planets in the system, ruling out 1.1 M Jup planets beyond 15.6 au (0.″58), 1.1 M Sat planets beyond 27 au (1″), and 2.8 M Nep planets beyond 67 au (2.″5). We also present new Keck/NIRC2 imaging of AF Lep b; combining this with the two epochs of F444W photometry and previous Keck photometry provides limits on the long-term 3–5 μm variability of AF Lep b on timescales of months to years. AF Lep b is the closest-separation planet imaged with JWST to date, demonstrating that planets can be recovered well inside the nominal (50% throughput) NIRCam coronagraph inner working angle.

Nature-based education has been increasingly recognized as a socially responsible approach to nurture curiosities in the hands, heads, and hearts of children. Research in the last ten years suggests that children who attend forest preschools, as opposed to traditional preschools, demonstrate growth in all domains of early childhood development. Domains include cognitive growth, executive functioning, physical development, linguistic proficiency, and socio-emotional well-being. In addition to cultivating these areas two Waldkindergarten or forest schools, studied in this chapter nourish as additional component—connectedness, compassion, and care for nature. There has been a steady increase in nature-based preschool programs as alternative approaches to traditional, indoor classrooms. With the expansion of programs, globally, and heightened awareness around environmental issues in the Anthropocene, nature-based education is increasingly recognized for cultivating socially responsible approaches that yield sustainable practices. This chapter reports on an exploratory study that synthesized two fieldwork experiences in German Wald-kindergarten, one in the north near Denmark and one in south, near the foothills of the Alps. Through a qualitative, thematic analysis of fieldnotes of direct and partici-pant observation, interviews with facilitators and analysis of student-created artifacts, this chapter explores how time in nature can be reconceived as a space to cultivate a connectedness to nature that fosters a commitment to conservation and sustain-ability. Primary goals of this research are to identify practices that center children learning with nature and, subsequently, to reconceptualize forest school practices in contexts outside of northern Europe. This research interrogates ways in which forest schools serve as spaces to engage in work around environmental stewardship while problematizing the accessibility of nature-based programs. Whilst reflecting upon lessons from Waldkindergarten, this chapter explores how nature-based Education provides opportunities towards a sustainable future for cultivating children’s curiosities in timeless traditions. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2024.

Study Objectives: Prior research suggests that insomnia may increase the risk of death. However, the potential influence of age and sex is unclear. This study aimed to investigate the association of insomnia symptoms with all-cause mortality by age and sex. Methods: This prospective cohort was drawn from the Health and Retirement Study, a survey of Americans older than 50 years and their spouses of any age from 2002–2018. Insomnia symptom scores were based on difficulties initiating sleep, difficulty maintaining sleep, waking up too early, and nonrestorative sleep. Cox proportional-hazards regression models were employed to investigate the association between insomnia symptoms and all-cause mortality stratified by age and sex. Results: A total of 33,004 participants were included with a mean age of 61.7 years and 56.8% females. Over a mean follow-up of 8.4 years, 8,935 (27.1%) deaths were recorded. After adjusting for confounding, males with insomnia symptom scores ranging from 5–8 had a 71% increased risk of death (hazard ratio = 1.71; 95% confidence interval: 1.27, 2.30) compared with their counterparts without insomnia symptoms. Similarly, males aged ≥ 60 years and females aged < 60 years with insomnia symptoms ranging from 5–8 had an increased risk of death compared with their counterparts without insomnia symptoms (hazard ratio = 1.15; 95% confidence interval: 1.02, 1.31 and hazard ratio = 1.38; 95% confidence interval: 1.00, 1.90, respectively). However, there was no increased risk of death for females aged ≥ 60 years (hazard ratio = 0.94; 95% confidence interval: 0.84, 1.06). Conclusions: These findings suggest that insomnia symptoms may serve as predictors of low life expectancy. © 2024 American Academy of Sleep Medicine. All rights reserved.

Using firms’ receipt of SEC comment letters, this study investigates their selection of mandatory filing types when producing deficient disclosures in response to the product market competition. Empirical evidence reveals a positive association between two firm-level measures of product market competition and a firm's likelihood of receiving comment letters for non-10-K filings. These patterns are particularly pronounced when firms face a higher likelihood of new market entrants or operate as industry followers. Additionally, firms receiving comment letters for non-10-K filings experience increased sales and market share in the subsequent year. Overall, these findings suggest that firms strategically make deficient disclosures in non-10-K filings to minimize regulatory costs. © 2024 Elsevier B.V.

This chapter provides information about the changing definition and views of intellectual disabilities that impact both classroom placement and education programs. It describes learning characteristics of student with intellectual disabilities that are quite "normal" and predictable for them, and task analysis, a most effective special education teaching approach that demonstrates how to address those learning characteristics. © 2025 National Art Education Association. All rights reserved.

Troubleshooting is a process designed to help teachers choose lessons, analyze their language and procedures, and organize classroom space and time. When an art lesson is planned, a logical expectation is that the lesson will go pretty much as written. Troubleshooting takes the opposite approach. It expects that things will go wrong and tries to prevent or minimize potential problems. "Murphy's Law" leads us to expect that whatever can go wrong will go wrong. The troubleshooting expectation that things will go wrong is the "Murphy's Law" of lesson planning. © 2025 National Art Education Association. All rights reserved.

It is important to remember that autism spectrum disorder is a spectrum disorder that represents many individuals who have a wide and disparate range of challenges and strengths. There is an old adage that says, "If you have met one person with autism, then you have met one person with autism," for no two individuals on the spectrum will be exactly alike and present with the same strengths and challenges. This wide spectrum, or great variability within individuals on the spectrum, can be seen when we look at the wide range of outcomes for adults with ASD. Some individuals on the spectrum will be quite challenged throughout their lives and require supportive settings and many services, whereas others on the spectrum will require moderate supports during their lifetime. © 2025 National Art Education Association. All rights reserved.